ASCAP Members Earn All Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductions

ASCAP members Steven Tyler & Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Mick Jones & Lou Gramm of Foreigner, JD Souther, Holly Knight and Tony Hatch (PRS) will become the latest inductees into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at the organization’s 44th annual Induction and Awards Dinner. These legendary songwriters wrote such mega-hits as “Downtown,” "I Want to Know What Love Is,” “Love Is a Battlefield,” “Best of My Love” and “Dude (Looks Like a Lady).” The star-studded induction event is slated for Thursday, June 13th at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. Additional special award honorees will be announced soon.

This news comes on the heels of the announcement that ASCAP will honor Steven Tyler and Joe Perry with the prestigious ASCAP Founders Award during the 30th annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards. The award honors pioneering songwriters who have made exceptional contributions to music, inspiring and influencing their fellow music creators. The awards gala will take place on April 17th at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, California, and will also celebrate the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP's most performed pop songs of 2012. Click here for more information.

Established in 1969, the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) serves as a vital bridge between music’s past and future. In the Hall, musical pioneers are enshrined and celebrated, while the organization’s outreach to the music community grooms the next generation of troubadours.

Tickets for the Songwriters Hall of Fame event are available through Buckley Hall Events: (212) 573-6933. Net proceeds from the event will go toward the Songwriters Hall of Fame programs.

Full biographies and a complete list of inductees are available at the Songwriters Hall of Fame's Virtual Museum at www.songwritershalloffame.org.

Tony Hatch:
Multifaceted British songwriter, producer, arranger, conductor and pianist Tony Hatch is credited for his musical contributions both in the UK and US, with his international hit for Garry Mills in 1960; “Look for a Star.” The song launched Hatch’s career and provided him with a platform to write and produce for hit artists on both sides of the Atlantic, including Bobby Rydell with “Forget Him,” and The Searchers with “Sugar and Spice.” Hatch’s most significant relationship as a songwriter, arranger and producer was with Petula Clark, which yielded classic British Invasion pop hits including “Downtown,” “I Know a Place” and “My Love.” He had huge success with Chris Montez and “Call Me,” which launched the song as an album with covers by legendary artists including Frank Sinatra, Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald, George Shearing, Astrud Gilberto and Eliane Elias. Hatch continued to write songs with his wife at the time, singer Jackie Trent, including her #1 UK hit “Where Are You Now.“ The duo also wrote Clark’s “Don’t Sleep in the Subway,” “I Couldn’t Live Without Your Love,” “Colour My World,” and “Sign of the Times” and “Joanna” for Scott Walker. Hatch has also composed TV theme songs; most notably for the Australian soap Neighbours and the UK soap Emmerdale, now in its 40th year.

Mick Jones & Lou Gramm:
Foreigner’s legendary songwriting partners, Mick Jones and Lou Gramm, have together propelled an arsenal of ten multi-platinum albums and multiple Top 30 hits. Universally hailed as one of the most popular rock acts in the world, the band is responsible for some of the greatest rock anthems of our time, including the worldwide #1 hit, "I Want to Know What Love Is," which today remains as one of the 25 most performed songs in the ASCAP catalog. Other iconic songs include "Feels Like the First Time," "Cold as Ice" and "Long, Long Way from Home" from their self-titled 1977 debut album. Major songs in the Jones and Gramm catalog include "Juke Box Hero,” "Hot Blooded" and "Waiting for a Girl Like You." A multi-talented and multi-dimensional “musician’s musician,” Jones has also written songs such as “Bad Love” with Eric Clapton and “Dreamer” with Ozzy Osbourne, and produced records for others including Billy Joel’s Storm Front and Van Halen’s 5150. A Grammy and Golden Globe-nominated songwriter, Jones is the winner of the prestigious British Ivor Novello songwriter award for the song “The Flame Still Burns,” from the soundtrack Still Crazy.

Holly Knight:
Holly Knight has had a wild 36-year ride in the music business that ignited when she met songwriter/producer Mike Chapman with her band Spider in 1981. They penned Spider’s single, “Better Be Good to Me,” which music icon Tina Turner recorded six months later on her 1984 album Private Dancer. Knight’s success continued when she wrote the chart-topping, “Love Is a Battlefield” and “Invincible” for Pat Benatar, “The Warrior”for Patty Smyth,“Change” for John Waite, “Baby Me” for Chaka Khan, “Never”for Heart and “Pleasure and Pain” for Divinyls. In total, Knight has written nine songs for Turner, including “The Best” and “Wildest Dreams,” both signature songs for the legend. She also wrote “Love Touch” for Rod Stewart, “Obsession” for Animotion, “Hide Your Heart” for KISS, “Rag Doll” with Aerosmith, “Space” for Cheap Trick and the list continues. Her songs have appeared in movies as varied as Thelmaand Louise, Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome, Stewart Little and Hot Tub Fantasy, and on TV shows such as American Idol, The Voice, 30 Rock, Family Guy, The Simpsons and South Park. Knight’s songwriting has earned her numerous awards including three Grammys and thirteen ASCAP songwriter awards.

JD Souther:
An architect of the Southern California sound and an influence on modern songwriting, JD Souther has written and co-written many Eagles hits including "Heartache Tonight,” "Victim of Love,” "New Kid in Town,” "Best of My Love,” Don Henley's "The Heart of the Matter,” and the Eagles’ hit "How Long.” Linda Ronstadt recorded ten of his songs, including "Faithless Love,” "Simple Man, Simple Dream,” and "Prisoner in Disguise.” His hit "You're Only Lonely" reached the top ten followed by "Her Town, Too" with James Taylor. He has written with Warren Zevon, Paul Williams, Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, Arthur Hamilton, Roy Orbison, Will Jennings, and Jackson Browne. His songs appear on more than 150 million records worldwide including Hugh Masekela, Bonnie Raitt, Glen Campbell, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Najma Akhtar, George Strait, India Arie, Trisha Yearwood and Bernadette Peters. Souther has released eight solo albums, including the 2011 collection Natural History, about which Jazz Times Magazine said, "Souther proves his work holds up as well as Dylan's, Simon's, or Lennon and McCartney's.” In 2012 he was cast as a guest star on ABC's Nashville. Souther has received numerous Grammy nominations, Academy of Country Music and American Music Awards, 21 ASCAP performance awards, and the prestigious ASCAP Golden Note Award in 2009. He is currently writing and recording and believes in "music without boundaries.”

Steven Tyler & Joe Perry:
As co-founding members of Aerosmith, the songwriting team of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry has sold more than 150 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They are the recipients of countless awards including four Grammys, eight American Music Awards, six Billboard Awards and 12 MTV Video Music Awards, among many other honors. With scores of multi-platinum albums, Aerosmith continues to inspire generations to get their wings, to get a grip and to just push play. Their songs remain relevant to this day and they are considered one of the most beloved bands of all time. Released in 2012, Aerosmith’s 15th studio album, Music From Another Dimension!, features songs penned by both Tyler and Perry, who also served as producers on the album. Tyler is considered one of rock’s most recognizable and dynamic frontmen and Rolling Stone has called him “one of the greatest singers of all time.” As the electrifying lead guitarist of Aerosmith, Perry has achieved permanent iconic stature in the pantheon of rock, as he was immortalized in 2008 when Aerosmith made history and created a cultural firestorm when Activision released Guitar Hero®: Aerosmith®.

About The Songwriters Hall of Fame: The Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrates songwriters, educates the public with regard to their achievements, and produces a spectrum of professional programs devoted to the development of new songwriting talent through workshops, showcases and scholarships. Out of the tens of thousands of songwriters of our era, there are fewer than 400 inductees who make up the impressive roster enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The list includes Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland, Albert Hammond, Desmond Child, Paul Williams, Hal David and Burt Bacharach, John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Richard and Robert Sherman, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Sir Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, Don Schlitz, Bruce Springsteen, Curtis Mayfield, Jim Croce, Phil Collins, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Loretta Lynn, Jimmy Webb, Van Morrison, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Diane Warren, Leonard Cohen and Bob Seger among many others.